A Shadow Romance

by Elizabeth Cooke

The French have a saying that goes something like this:

"The most exciting part of a sexual liaison is walking up the stairs"

Elizabeth Cooke, a New Yorker born and bred, graduated Vassar, and the Sorbonne in Paris where she developed a lifelong devotion to art. She is the author of LIFE SAVORS, a memoir, and EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, a book celebrating six particular artists and the women they loved. She is currently at work on a novel that takes place in Paris, titled THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL.

90 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 11, 2014

About the author

Elizabeth Cooke, a New Yorker, in addition to the hotel series, "There's a Small Hotel" Secrets of a Small Hotel" and "The Hotel Next Door" is also author of a memoir, "Life Savors" "Eye of the Beholder" a book celebrating the muses of six artists, and "A Shadow Romance" a love story of an older couple. She currently resides in Georgia.

Her book, There's A Small Hotel won 1st place in the 2015 Paris Book Festival for General Fiction.

Reviews

[Nissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slightly interesting at first, but the language..or rather era of it.. for having taking place present day seemed off. By the end I was asking myself "What was the point of that?". The story lacked intrigue, romance, and/or even a point (for lack of a better word). Stephen and *we never got her name* weren't romantically involved, he stated that they he didn't want a romantic relationship, and yet she acted as if they were in one and was extremely petty and immature for someone in her 60's. There was no real reason for this story to ever be told.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, a little pretentious for me. Elizabeth Cooke is certainly a knowledgeable product of Vassar and Sorbonne. I feel confident in her abilities and look forward to reading, “Eye of the Beholder”.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, Ok so the writing was good, but sometimes felt over the top. The story left me completely flat. The first half the woman, not sure if her name was ever given, is infatuated with a slightly younger man. He has said that he is not interested in a romantic relationship, but instead of listening to his words she chooses to believe his flirtations. The second half of the book goes a different direction, I won't say more because I don't want to give spoilers. By the end, the woman is behaving very petty. I was looking forward to reading a book about a mature woman's romance, I thought that was what this book was about, but instead, it was about a woman feeling betrayed, but only because she didn't listen to what she had been told at the beginning of their friendship.

I won this book in a Goodreads' giveaway, but the opinions are all my own.

[Heather]

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

The story was kind of confusing for me. It was a short and quick read, but I wasn’t really sure about it.

The narrator becomes infatuated with Stephen, and when he tells her he has no romantic feelings for her, she ignores that. However, he does continue to act romantically toward her in some instances, so it was confusing and I could see why she could feel like she was being led on. BUT she acted like they were lovers or in a more serious relationship than what they actually had, so when she found out he was with someone else, and that someone else was a man, her actions seemed a bit over the top. In fact, they seemed kind of immature and downright cruel and I felt bad for Pierre. She could have confronted Stephen about how she felt instead of hurting Pierre and then went to Stephen about what she knew. I didn’t see a reason for her cruelty toward a man who clearly didn’t know who she was, especially when she wasn’t a romantic interest to Stephen.

All in all, the story was okay but confusing.